The Didier Drogba fan, the Millwall stalwart & playing with Cristiano Ronaldo - Five EFL stories
Sky Sports+ brings you every Championship game live in midweek | Here are some stories featuring Millwall's Jake Cooper, QPR's Nicolas Madsen, Sheffield Wednesday's Charlie McNeill, Bristol City's Emil Riis and Swansea's Josh Tymon.
Monday 23 February 2026 17:55, UK
Jake Cooper: I didn't expect to be at Millwall for nearly a decade!
"The simple answer is no," Jake Cooper says with a smile. The Millwall defender has just been asked whether he still would have expected to spend nearly a decade at the club after joining on loan in January 2017.
"Neil Harris brought me in and I didn't know where I would go after the three or four months I was here. To then join permanently and see the progress within the football club, I wanted to be part of that.
"I wanted my career to push forward as well. We've kind of gone at the same pace as each other and it's worked as a really good relationship between myself and the club."
Now 31, Cooper has been a stalwart at The Den ever since signing and is sixth on the all-time list of appearance makers for Millwall. Quite a remarkable feat in the modern day.
In six of his eight full seasons for the club, he has made upwards of 40 Championship appearances. In total he has made more than 400 for the Lions.
"It's not something I saw coming in or set out to achieve, it's just been nice," he adds "I always try to make myself available because I want to play as many games as I can. I enjoy being part of it every week and the appearances have added up quite quickly.
"Now it's about trying to improve, trying to make the team better and using my experience to help new players understand what the fan base wants and how people see us from the outside. We need to pull together to try and achieve something special for this football club."
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Nicolas Madsen: I'm really self critical, it's just who I am
Nicolas Madsen has, to all intents and purposes, been one of the best midfielders in the Championship this season. The Danish midfielder, however, doesn't always believe it himself.
"I'm really self critical," he admits. "I think it's just the person I am. I analyse myself because I know the kind of influence I can have. In this league the midfield battles are so important.
"There are a lot of duels, second balls and physical play, but it's also about showing the quality that can make the difference from a midfield perspective. I don't think I'm taking too much on my shoulders, that's just how I analyse things.
"I'm not satisfied [with my performances] but it's nice to see it's going in the right direction. I can feel it in training and in games. As a person, it's probably both a strength and a weakness that I'm not very good at enjoying it. I'm always thinking about how to get better and what wasn't good enough."
It is his second season in England for the 25-year-old, and after a mixed first campaign he has been excellent this season. Mainly due to his own drive to improve himself and others around him.
"I knew when I came here I had to develop my game without the ball, especially defensively, because that's required here. Otherwise you can look stupid, like I did sometimes last year. Even though it wasn't the year I hoped for, I still developed and learned a lot, which was the target when I came.
"I am hard on myself and also honest with others because I believe that's how you improve. If you want to push limits, create a culture and set standards, you have to be critical.
"It's about finding the balance between being hard on yourself and knowing when to take it a bit easier. That's something I maybe struggle with, but at the moment it's what works for me."
Charlie McNeill: I can say I played alongside Ronaldo
It may not have been the result that he would have wanted, but the moment itself was a dream for Charlie McNeill.
A day before his 19th birthday, he came off the bench for Manchester United in a Europa League defeat against Real Sociedad, playing the final few minutes alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. I tried to swap shirts, but there were so many lads trying to get it!
"My shirt is framed in the house! Every time I look at it, it brings back that memory," he says. "Playing at Old Trafford, and playing alongside Ronaldo. That's what dreams are made of really.
"For me as a United fan and with my whole family there, playing in Europe for the team I've supported my whole life was just incredible. It's a day that I'll never forget."
It was also a learning experience for McNeill, now 22 and at Sheffield Wednesday, to be around the first team when Ronaldo returned to Manchester United.
"I was just in awe of him, being there and watching him every day, his movement, how he shoots, just everything about him," he recalls. "I remember one day I had to come back to United around five or six o'clock at night to do some extra gym work with the young lads.
"I walked into the first team building, looked down the corridor to the gym and he was still in there at five or six o'clock. The dedication he had at that age was unbelievable.
"Everyone was doubting him when he came back to United but I think he was unbelievable. He set such a good example for the young lads with the way he trained every day and the work he was doing around the place."
Emil Riis on living in the South West and growing up a Drogba fan
Emil Riis spent five years at Preston before switching from Lancashire to Britol in the summer.
"I did have a bigger house for less money!" the Danish striker says with a laugh. "It was a bit different up north. I lived in a small village with some nice neighbours, but now I'm in Bath which is a great city and the people here are also nice."
At 6ft3, Riis has always been a powerful No 9. No surprise then that his childhood hero was an iconic Premier League targetman.
"We watch a lot of the English league back home, so it's definitely a big thing," he added. "I grew up watching Didier Drogba, he was my idol, so it was definitely a dream. I was a Chelsea fan as well as my home team, Brondby.
"I was always a striker. As a kid you play in different positions, but I always wanted to be a striker. I didn't like playing anywhere else.
"I think I was just one of the better finishers, and I didn't like running back, so I focused on being a good striker."
Josh Tymon on overcoming missed years to reach his potential
Josh Tymon is playing some of the best football of his career for Swansea City this season, but he is in reflective mood when looking back at his earlier years.
"If I look back now, I'd probably say I started too early," the 26-year-old admits. "When you start at the heights that I did, you're never prepared for setbacks. You think you're riding the wave and it's going to stay like that forever."
As a teenager, Tymon featured in the Premier League for Hull City then Stoke City, and accepts now he could have made more of his opportunity with the latter.
"I'd definitely say I wasted a few years at Stoke, which was my own doing," he says. "I can't blame anyone else for that. I didn't fully commit to my career and there were three or four years where I didn't do enough to force my way into the team.
"I wasn't prepared for managerial changes, player changes and everything that goes on around a club. That affected me and I didn't react in the right way by working harder to fix it.
"When you're at a club for so many years, you can become part of the furniture and drift away. I was ready for a new challenge and this was the best place I could have come to reignite my career and get back to playing well.
"It wasn't until I came here that I got a fresh start. Coming to Swansea, I straight away had a good feel for the place. It helped me mature, even living in a different area that I couldn't have seen myself living in a few years ago.
"Everything is so orientated around the football club, which helps your performances on the pitch. It's a wonderful place to play football and it's helped me play consistently. I'm into my third season now and hopefully there are many more to come."
Midweek fixtures
Every Championship game is live on Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports app, with free highlights on the Sky Sports app shortly after full-time. 7.45pm kick-offs unless stated.
Tuesday 24
- Blackburn vs Bristol City
- Hull vs Derby
- Middlesbrough vs Leicester
- Swansea vs Preston
- Watford vs Ipswich
- West Brom vs Charlton
- Wrexham vs Portsmouth
- Southampton vs QPR (8pm)
Wednesday 25
- Millwall vs Birmingham
- Norwich vs Sheffield Wednesday
- Sheffield United vs Coventry
- Stoke vs Oxford (8pm)
